1. Your poem must use a high level of emotion--
anger, angst, love, depression, bliss--
you know, anything that might make a reader
writhe in his seat.
2. Your poem must rhyme--or try to. The more
obvious and pathetically awful the rhyme
the better.
3. Your poem must use a cliche. More points
scored if it uses more than one.
4. Your poem must use an obvious symbol of the
intense feeling you are trying to convey.
Of course, nothing is more awful than a poem that doesn't fulfill any of the poetic requirements, so treat these as guidelines, to be dropped when they don't suit you. And for those of you who claim you don't understand poetry, give me a break. Don't write in that you would write a poem if only you knew how. Just put the godawful thing down, and make it crappy!
And don't try to show us all up and write something brilliant. That does NOT fulfill the assignment, and you know it.